25 October 2014

Portslade Village Green

People imagine the Village Green
has been a public open space since time immemorial. But this is not the case
and it only dates from recent times. But the path running alongside it, is an
ancient right of way whose origins do go back a very long way. It forms part of
the old track starting off in Wellington Road and winding its way up onto the
Downs. It enabled people living in south Portslade, with certain property
rights, to move their cattle or sheep onto the Downs for free pasturing on
common land. Open access to common land on the Downs lasted longer in Portslade
than in many other places and private ownership only came into the picture in
the late 19th century.

As for our Village Green, it was
providential that it was not built upon in bygone days when planning
regulations were not an issue. It seems natural that such a green should be
near the church and indeed the writer Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882) held this
notion. In his book Old Court Ainsworth mentions the green near the
church at Portslade and one chapter was headed The Grave in Portslade
Churchyard. He was obviously familiar with the area because he stayed at
Hove in the 1840s.

By the 1930s this green space
belonged to Andrew Melville (1884-1938) the theatrical impresario who owned
Whychcote. He kept ponies in the field where they enjoyed freedom until
required to pull Cinderella’s coach onto the stage during the pantomime he
produced at the Grand Theatre in North Street, Brighton, which he also owned.

But Melville had ideas about
developing this field and accordingly in February 1930 he submitted his plans
to Portslade Council. Fortunately, Melville’s application was turned down.
Then, very sensibly, Portslade councillors decided to include the field in
their Town Planning Scheme Number 1 and moreover declare it to be a public open
space.

This decision sent the Town Clerk
scurrying to check records on the land. He looked at the 1840 Tithe Map to see
if it had been an open space in those days; he also got in touch with the
Footpaths Preservation Society to ask for their advice.

Meanwhile, Andrew Melville was
fuming. As far as he could see, the land was his to do with as he pleased. He
lodged an appeal with the Ministry of Health against Portslade Council’s action
in turning down his planning application.

By December 1930 Portslade
Council announced they were prepared to buy the field at an agreed price. In
February 1931 Melville said he would sell, provided the price was right. The
Minister then announced a postponement in the hearing of Melville’s appeal in
order for the purchase to go forward.

Also in February 1931 a draft
order for Melville’s land, being 1.83 acres of meadow, was prepared under
Section 2 of the Public Works Facilities Act 1930. The compulsory purchase
order was confirmed on 27 April 1931.

In June 1931 Melville lodged a
claim for £3,030 compensation. But the following month, probably fed up with
the way things were dragging on, he said he was prepared to accept £2,500 to
prevent delay and expense, although Melville’s valuer had reckoned the land was
worth £3,000.

Mr Nye stated he thought the
correct value was £2,100 but he recommended Portslade Council to make an unconditional
but sealed offer of £2,250. Melville’s solicitors came back insisting that
£2,500 was the price. But the council declined. Eventually a deal was hammered
out and Melville agreed to accept £2,250 provided Portslade Council paid £100
towards his expenses. If Melville sounds like a hard man, it was because he was
probably in financial difficulties. Although successful, he never built up a
fortune and was known to be generous towards those in the theatrical profession
who had fallen on hard times. When he died there was so little money left that
his widow had to sell Whychote immediately and move to a more modest house.

In October 1931 Mr Nye advised
the council to agree to Melville’s terms. He said that should the case be
forwarded to the official arbitrator, his award might well exceed £2,250 and
moreover the council would have to pay the cost of the conveyance.

At last agreement was reached and
on 29 December 1931 the Ministry of Health wrote to Portslade Council agreeing
to their request to be allowed to borrow £2,600 to acquire the land. The Town
Clerk then had the task of negotiating with Messrs F.G. Grocott to borrow the
money and the deed was completed by February 1932.

Apparently, there was no ill-feeling between Andrew Melville and Portslade Council about the protracted proceedings. Perhaps it was a case of, if you cannot beat them, join them. At any rate in April 1932 Melville was elected a Portslade Councillor and sat on the Planning Committee, the Works Committee and the Finance Committee. He became Chairman of the Council in 1933 and Chairman of Portslade Fire Brigade Sub-committee from 1933 to 1934.

Recreation Ground

Although the open space has been called the Village Green
for many years, back in the 1930s it was known as a Recreation Ground. At that
time there was only one public open space at Portslade and this was Victoria Recreation Ground, which was officially opened in 1902. Easthill Park did not
open until 1948.

In April 1932 it was reported that the estimate for
expenses regarding the new Recreation Ground came to £38-10s. The items
included the following:

New entrance at the south east corner £10

New gate at the north west corner £5-10s

Six seats @ £3 each £18

Notice boards £5

The Recreation Ground opened in July 1932 but it was not
long before neighbours complained about the children’s boisterous behaviour.
Mrs A.M. Tyson was the chief complainant and by May 1933 Portslade Council had
received two letters from her. Mrs Tyson lived in Lindfield House, right next
door (the site now covered by the Baptist Church and grounds). The council
discussed the desirability of having a man around to keep an eye on things,
particularly during the school holidays. Since the verger who used to look
after the churchyard around St Nicolas had just retired, it was thought it
might be a good idea to combine both responsibilities. Presumably, nothing was
done because in June 1934 Mrs Tyson complained again. This time the council
agreed to employ a man on a temporary basis to supervise the ground during the
evenings of June, July and August.

In 1938 it was decided to build a public lavatory in the
ground at a cost of £370. Messrs A.W. Butt built the convenience, which was
officially opened on 3 April 1939. Already by May of the same year, there were
reports of damage.

A Venue for Church Fundraising

In recent times people have become accustomed to the
annual Summer Fete held on the Village Green in aid of funds for the Anglican parish of Portslade. It takes place on the last Saturday before the August Bank
Holiday and organisers are nervous at the famous vagaries of the British
weather. If the day is fine, setting up the stalls, displaying the goods,
moving tables and chairs, filling the tea urn, laying out plates, cups and
saucers in the tea tent, setting up the machine to make candy floss etc takes a
great deal of time and effort; activity on the Village Green can be seen before
8 a.m. in order to meet the midday opening time. If rain and gales prevail, the
fete has to be crammed into a much smaller space in the Parish Centre with a
few stalls set up in the car park.

It is interesting to note just how old this tradition is.
In June 1938 Mr F.W. Burn applied to Portslade Council for permission to hold a
comic dog competition at the Green on 15 June in connection with a church
bazaar. Let us hope he received permission because asking for it the same month
the event was to take place, was cutting things a bit fine. Nowadays, all the
planning and legal options have to be gone into months beforehand.

Trees

For many years a feature of the Village Green were the
three large trees in the centre – an elm, an ash and a beech.

The loss of the elm was particularly sad because it was an
unusual specimen, being a Huntingdon elm. The tree was 24 metres high and its
circumference was 146 centimetres, which meant it had the second largest
circumference of its species in the whole country. The great gale of October
1987 damaged part of it and Dutch elm disease also launched an attack. An
attempt was made to save the tree by pruning out the affected part and for a
while the battle appeared to be won. But another attack from the disease meant
the tree had to be felled.

The ash tree was also damaged in the storm of 1987. It
lost a limb but new growth started to spurt from the top. It does not help if
such large trees are in a public open space because the safety of the public is
paramount. The ash tree was felled on 14 November 1991. The sawdust around the
base remained as a poignant reminder for many days.

On 27 October 2002 high winds caused a massive branch to
snap off the beech tree, leaving a great, raw wound on the main trunk. The tree
was obviously in a dangerous condition and two other giant branches were felled
the following day. But it took two days to reduce the great tree to a sad
stump.

In February 1993 some 70 children helped to plant a new
elm tree to replace the lost one.

In December 2000 a large Christmas tree was installed on
the north side of the Village Green and lights were connected to the electricity
supply. It was a lovely festive tough in the heart of the village and the
lights could be seen from the west end of High Street. Unfortunately, it proved
irresistible to vandals who swooped on it on 16 December, only three days after
installation, and put the lights out of action. It is sad to say the experiment
was not repeated.

In December 2014 and 2015 the Revd Andrew Perry, vicar of Portslade, began a new innovation by organising carol singing on the Village Green with mulled wine and minced pies served in the Parish Centre afterwards. It proved to be such a popular event that it is likely to become a new tradition in the village.

At the end of February and the beginning of March 2016 a new feature began to take shape on the north side of the Village Green. This is part of the ‘wet garden’ scheme carried out in other locations in the city as well. The feature is in fact a glorified soak-away and it is a further attempt to address the problem of flooding in the village after violent storms. The area has been greatly helped by enlarging the storm drains and in 2007 two huge storage tanks were placed under the car park adjacent to the Village Green. These tanks can accommodate up to one million litres of storm-water and sewage, which prevents the sewerage system from being overwhelmed during a storm.

The official report about the tanks claimed such measures were necessary due to climate change. But the Sussex coast has always been subject to violent storms from time to time. The real problem is the changing use of the surrounding land from pasture and agriculture to being covered with bricks and mortar and hard-standing for cars. If rain cannot soak into the ground it will rush down the hills and into the village. The old village already has a high water table and indeed easy access to water was one of the reasons why the village grew here in the first place. It is interesting to note that the creators of
Portslade Brewery were well aware of the fine quality of the water at
Portslade and made abundant use of it.

Sources

Argus

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Original Documents

(When I studied them, they were located at the East Sussex
Record Office at The Maltings, Lewes).